What is the responsibility of the puppets in the play?
- both central and extremely difficult
- as their task is to re-enact the deeply harrowing personal accounts of the effect of the Apartheid State on people’s lives
- mediate this horror
How do the puppets represent humanity?
- as they attempt to move and breathe as we do
- cross the barrier of the her and now
- become metaphors for humanity
What does the element of two puppeteers create?
- this bestowed upon the puppet a metaphorical element of vulnerability
- while calling to mind the professional comforters who accompanied witnesses during TRC proceedings
What did the dual puppeteers work to do?
- divide and cut down individual control over the puppet’s movement and speech
- encourages us to enter into the illusion that the puppet has a life and responsibility of its own
allows
How is the fact that the puppeteers are visible significant?
- allows us to use the emotions visible in the puppeteers’ faces to inform our understanding of the puppet’s emotions
- brought to life by the puppeteer and the willingness of the audience
What do the victim puppets represent?
- tellers of the true storied of the TRC
- tell stories which are direct transcriptions of actual stories
What is the irony of the victim puppets?
- the ‘real’ stories are told by puppets
- clown like antics of the police were acted by real people
What is shown through the victim puppets?
- victims are mere ‘shells’ of humanity after their ordeals
- have no soul left
How is the use of the dual puppeteers of the victim puppets important?
- represents how the real story has to be told through 2 people
- the victim and the translator
Whos is the crocodile seen as?
- Pa Ubu’s advisor
- giving him advice on how to deal with facing the TRC
What does Niles do?
- tells Pa Ubu to pass the blame
- disposes of the evidence
What is Niles symbolic of?
- evil character
- P.W. Botha (aka “Ou Krokodil)
- how the ruling party was able to shred/deny the evidence that they were involved in the torture of apartheid
- subservient animals, living under water
- able to hide easily and not be seen
- like Pa Ubu who is never tried for his part in apartheid
What do the 3 heads of Brutus represent?
- the foot soldier
- the general
- the politician
- the 3 forms of people involved in the ordering execution of apartheid
What does the suitcase torso of Brutus represent?
- the evidence which is hidden/planted/carried by the people who actually partook of the tortures
What does the vulture represent?
- death because they feed off carrion or dead bodies
- could symbolise the victims of apartheid
What is the significance of the vulture being the only mechanical puppet?
- only non-speaking, mechanical puppet
- questions whether death is seen as mechanical
What does the shadow puppet represent?
- Alfred Jarry’s character in “Ubu Roi”
- a dictatorial leader
- who just took from the peasants without any consequences
- symbolic of Pa Ubu’s inner thoughts, ideas or greedy ways
What is the relation between the shadow puppet and Pa Ubu?
- Ubu Roi took from the peasants without consequence
- Pa Ubu is involved in apartheid yet reaps none of the consequences
What is the significance of the dance with the Ubu Roi puppuet who ends up whipping Pa Ubu?
- symbolic of how Pa Ubu is controlled by higher authorities
- punished if he does not do his “job” of torturing people
